Comments by the Chinese commerce ministry
- Some Chinese exporters have resumed production
- No reason to adopt intervention policies on international trade due to coronavirus
- Hopes other countries will provide favourable conditions for normal trade
At the same time, Reuters is reporting that Hon Hai/Foxconn's request to resume production in Shenzhen has been rejected as authorities will want to check the plant again to ensure that virus control measures are properly in place.
In any case, I think demand and supply conditions in China over the last few weeks have been absolutely distorted due to the coronavirus outbreak situation.
International companies are struggling to get the necessary supplies from China to carry on with their product manufacturing/offering, while overseas exporters are facing an extreme shortage in demand as China is in a partial lockdown for the most part.
Sure, businesses and production are resuming but I wouldn't expect social activities to return back to normal any time soon and most citizens - if not all - will just stock up on supplies and return home after work. There is no need for non-essential expenditure at this point.
Also, this isn't just affecting international trade but as more people become fearful about the coronavirus outbreak in other countries, consumption activity is also seen declining - especially in Asian countries which are reporting a higher case count now.
